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Adding shoe molding or?

Silvey Marshall

2 years ago

I'm having my floors refinished next week and need to make a decision about adding either quarter rounds or shoe molding to the baseboards which are only about 3.25 in high. My 1950 house has always had carpeting so when that is removed there will be a slight rough unpainted area. There could also be gaps between the floor and baseboard. With these narrow baseboards, what would look best? Also, is shoe molding cheaper than quarter rounds? I have one estimate which shows the shoe molding (plastic) a little higher than another estimate with quarter rounds. I want white.

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Comments (5)

PRO
G & S Floor Service
2 years ago
If, there are large gaps along the perimeter. I would replace the baseboards with thicker boards. The 3 1/4" bases are only 1/2-5/8" thick A 3/4" thick baseboard will cover up gaps. A shoe or quarter will look horrible up against a short base.
Silvey Marshall
Original Author
2 years ago
Are the 3/4" baseboard significantly more expensive than shoe mold or quarter rounds? One of the bids estimated 190 feet of plastic(?) shoe mold @ $2.75 for a total of $522. I'm suffering sticker shock but maybe it's labor-intensive.
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PRO
G & S Floor Service
2 years ago
Lumber is expensive in general. Yes, a 3/4" baseboard system will cost more. It's a two piece base board system. You will need 3/4" flat stock for the base and a base cap, which is the top profile. You can fully customize the look, since the cap is available in a variety of profiles.
lydcrafts
2 years ago
We had to do the same in removing broadloom in our 50’s house. We installed quarter round which had to be thick enough to cover gaps where the small baseboards met the floor. Not my favourite choice as it is a bit dated looking. Didn’t want to replace baseboards, as removing old would have damaged the walls and didn’t want to plaster and paint all walls. Toe kicks are concave I think, so I thought would have collected more dust. Looking back I might have investigated something more square looking rather than quarter rounds, but again, some of the gaps were pretty big and needed more coverage.
Silvey Marshall
Original Author
2 years ago
Update: I went with quarter rounds and they look fine. Or, to be more specific, I don't notice them which is the way I like it.

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